The former UN chief weapons inspector Hans Blix is to publish a book about the run-up to the conflict in Iraq, on the anniversary of the day that it began.

The Swedish scientist, who last week said he believed that Iraq had destroyed most of its weapons of mass destruction more than 10 years ago, is thought to have received more than $1m (£600,000) for world rights to the book, which will be called Weapons of Mass Destruction.

According to the publishers, Bloomsbury, Mr Blix will reveal details of meetings he held with world leaders in the months leading up to the war.

The publisher said the book - which will be published in Britain on March 18 next year and is currently at a final draft stage - conveys the frustrations, tensions, pressures and drama of his meetings with George Bush, Tony Blair, Jacques Chirac, Kofi Annan and others during the countdown to the invasion.

It will also come out in the US, and other countries.

In an interview with the Guardian in June, Mr Blix lashed out at the "bastards" who he said had tried to undermine him throughout the three years he held his high-profile post.

Asked if he believed he had been the target of a smear campaign, he said: "Yes, I probably was, at a lower level."

The book could prove embarrassing, not only for Tony Blair, whose government is already under pressure for its justifications for the war, but also for Mr Bush as he gears up for next year's presidential election.

According to the publishers, Mr Blix will also address the questions of whether the war could have been prevented, and why the US and Britain could not secure the backing of the other members of the UN security council.

Bill Swainson, a senior commissioning editor at Bloomsbury in London, said: "Hans Blix is the one unimpeachable inside witness to the events leading up to the war in Iraq. His account is essential for the historical record, and his reflections on international security are of huge importance for the future."

Last week Mr Blix, who spent three years hunting for chemical, biological and nuclear weapons in Iraq as the head of the UN monitoring, verification and inspection commission, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that he had become more and more convinced that Iraq destroyed most if not all of its WMD in 1991.